Visa Lawyer Blog
This year the American Immigration Lawyers Association National conference is being held in San Diego. Just a few blocks from our down town office, you can see thousands of Immigration lawyers gather to socialize, learn and advance our profession.
This morning, ICE head John Morton, opened with an discussion about ICE’s activity and future plans. ICE released new IDENT statistics that show immigrants with low level offenses account for a large number of those caught in the dragnet created by Secure Communities.
Of 477,035 matches, 71, 197 have been identified as level 1 offenders, while 405,838 were identified as level 2 and level 3, between October 2008 and February 2011.
Meanwhile, of the 405,838 level 2 and level 3 matches, 52,603 individuals were identified as non-criminals booked into ICE custody, while 24,884 level 2 offenders and 49,019 level 3 offenders were booked.
According to ICE, “deployment continues to be the primary driver for increased identifications.”
Secure Communities, which relies on police in local jails to enter prints of those they arrest into a joint FBI and ICE database, is currently active in 1,123 jurisdictions in 40 states. ICE plans to enroll 488 more jurisdictions by the end of FY 2011 with a goal of total deployment in 2013.
When former AILA president offered Morton the Support Secure Communities badge, he kindly declined:))
He also stated that his own mother is still a Green Card holder after many years living in the US. He was also born outside of the US.
Keeping you posted tomorrow…